Just Posted - Sony NEX-F3 review

Just posted: Sony NEX-F3 review. In the latest of our collaborations with Jeff Keller of the Digital Camera Resource Page, we look at the Sony NEX-F3 - the company's latest entry-level mirrorless camera. The F3 continues the lineage of the original NEX-3, including many of features of Sony's more expensive models in a less expensive body. In the case of the F3 this means the latest 16MP APS-C sensor capable of up to 6 frames per second, plus Auto Portrait Framing mode, a built-in flash and an LCD that flips all the way up to aid self-portraiture. Do these latest additions offer a significant improvement for the baby NEX? Click through to read the review.

I think this constant criticism of NEX that the system "needs more lenses" or "needs better lenses" needs to be qualified.

The people who buy NEX 7 cameras certainly will want a much wider and better lens selection. I am really not that certain if very many NEX F3 buyers are that concerned about lens selection.

A great many buyers of entry level ILCs will never even buy a second lens. These are the P&S upgraders, who have no need or desire to spend a lot of money assembling large lens collections.

This fact suggests that we have two different markets here. One for a basic camera plus a kit lens, and one for an advanced camera with multiple lenses available.

I'd say the new NEX F3 does a very good job of meeting the needs of that first market, and shouldn't be faulted for lacking something those buyers don't need. Having said that, it is still fair game to criticize Sony for not meeting the needs of NEX 7 buyers....

You are merely making the same assumptions as they made over at Sony. But could it be possible, that if so many are complaining, it just might be because these assumptions are off the mark? Maybe there are also those who just want a good lens selection, but won't pay, ever, an arm and a leg for a decent camera... and are just looking for that juste-milieu in terms of value and bang for the buck.

I don't believe so.... I bought E-PL3 not EP3 because of the constrain of my budget. However, I would like to have an option to upgrade my lens, say minimum to pana 20mm 1.7 which I can do later once more budget available.Moreover E-PL3 has almost the same quality (if not exactly the same) as the result from E-P3, so I prefer spend on the lenses rather than body.So I guess at this Sony case, it might hold some true as well.

Well that is great that you guys are reviewing each camera and it seems that you have been "playing" with each before you guys make the review. I use you for reference and would like it to be as accurate as possible. HOWEVER I have to ask you to go through this one and fix all the references you made to C3 as just on the introduction page I've noticed there are misleading informations. I owe C3 and have latest firmware on it installed. I can tell you that ISO does not go to 100 and it never did. It does have face recognition and focus peaking. I have not read full review yet and first page stopped me from doing so. PLEASE fix this. ISO's importance doesn't have to be mentioned and focus peaking is what makes that camera so great with manual lenses. Thanks and looking forward to reading this after the fix.

There is a rumor Sony will be releasing a new NEX 6 with WiFi and it will be opensource for apps, not sure if it's just a rumor but since there is a lot of people hacking the NEX and SLT cameras maybe it's a good thing.

Interesting thing: in the section about DRO, DRO Auto appears to be subtler than even DRO Lv1, and does not correspond to either f the 5 levels. Also, it looks much more reasonable, with others looking washed out.

Samsung has 16mm, 20mm, 30mm and 60mm for its APS-C sensor compact system cameras. I expect these NEX cameras are excellent, but the interface is not agile, even in simple mode. Sometimes, less is not more.

The sigma primes (19, 30) aren't that small physically. The Samsung cheapo primes are also faster across the line. The Sony 16 and 50 are very nice for a price to me but that canon 22mm f2 pancake or the Samsung 30mm f2 pancake as a NEX lens would sure make the line more appealing...

I almost bought a NEX (would have been a 5N for the video though) but the lens selection is just terrible. I can't fathom buying a camera like this and looking at zooms. An 18-200 superzoom? I want to put this thing on my belt, not around my neck! Pancakes give an appealing option but Sony's selection is terrible. The 16mm is comparatively slow too, which negates for me a lot of the advanages of the APS-C sensor. I don't understand where this type of camera fits in anymore in the post RX-100 world. I mean, the RX-100 treated like a 28mm FF prime has an equivalent aperture of f4.9, similar to the 16mm (granted, it's wider not that sony gives you a choice) pancake's f4.2 equivalent. If you want a longer lens, why not just pull out an entirely separate body while you're at it? I mean the 18-200 superzoom dwarfs the actual body and the 18-200 costs a few pennies on it's own. Also, I don't miss the viewfinder shooting wide nearly as much as I do at tele. I just don't get the middle ground.

Well peter42y, you are wrong, Sony Zeiss and G lenses are exceptional and the NEX lenses are not as bad as people make them out to be, this Sony has no lens selection is getting old and is clearly coming from people who don't own any Sony Gear

I was not warm for the sal1855 kit lens after all i have seen in reports and tests. But, when I received the NEX and tested to lens in many fields, I discovered a perfectly good and real sharp lens. I have a wide choice of lenses and adapters for all of them, best portrait is Nikon 50-1.8 and best all-round is the Sigma 30-1.4. In wide my preferred is the Voigtlaender 15 mm. So, on the end, do we need so much more lenses from Sony. Most people who buy a NEX will run it on the kit lens forever, and those who want to play with it, will chose the adapter hybrid game. The Nex shoots with virtually just anything and makes the best pictures I ever had since i ow cameras and that is now some 53 years. It bundles the ancient good old days to present time, and that is what makes it the perfect toy for "old men". Get an idea about the IQ of SAL18-55 here ;http://www.pbase.com/lou_giroud/image/145318030/original

The grip on the NEX series makes them feel good in the hand. The trouble for me is, the lenses are so large it takes the advantage of the compactness away. This is why the 4/3rds makes more sense. The Nikon 1 system is even smaller when you want to use the telephoto lens.

What grip?There's about as much grip in some low end NEXes as in soap bar and 7's grip is only at level where better compacts used to be before diversity of cameras was dumbed down to lowest common denominator.

(Konica)Minolta Dimage A2 is what ergonomics of high end mirrorless body should be:Fully DSLRs challenging... with more comfortable for viewing viewfinder position.

Owning both a GF3 and the NEX-C3, with a number of lenses for each, I'm qualified to say you're wrong. The GF3 (now GF5) is probably one of the smallest 4/3rds available, but in hand and in pocket, with or without pancake lenses or a zoom, the GF3 has NO size advantage. The GF3 IQ is also SIGNIFICANTLY dwarfed by the images produced by the NEX, especially DR. Why anyone then would want to pick up anything on the market other than a NEX, especially if size is an issue is beyond me. I can only assume your knowledge of 1", 4/3rds and APSC sized sensors is VERY limited ... and if its not, why dont you go the whole hog and just recommend something like the Canon S100 which is even smaller!

I agree, Simon. The NEX 5N has a comfortable grip considering its size. The E-P3 is horrible by comparison. The V1 gets by on size mostly. However, in actual use with a kit zoom I think the V1 handles better.

While the lens selection is not great, as a NEX-7 owner I can tell you these cameras are addictive. Just try the 3D Panorama, and the regular panorama and you will see what I mean. For lenses, I've had fun playing with manual FD canon lenses - they perform well with a good adapter. Love it!

I just learned via (many) trusted sources that the third revolution from Sony is about to happen. After the SLT and NEX introductions (first two revolutions) Sony is about to change the photographic and video industry with the third revolution… a new Full Frame NEX system!

Sony seems to have come a long way in refining their noise reduction technique... definitely one of the best performing APS-C cameras available along with the NEX 5N & X-Pro 1...

Wish Sony would implement their stacked CMOS technilogy into APS-C sensors soon... Redesigning & tweaking their existing wafers shouldn't pose too much of a problem... especially given the sensor market share they currently enjoy...

You're correct about the first two (which Barney should be taking care of), but the last one is for face recognition, not face detection. The NEX-F3 can "learn" a face and then give them focus priority.

I have talked with a trusted Sony insider and a FF NEX will never happen, there is a lot of people including me who would like to see it but no, watch this B&H sales video were said insider explain why a FF will not make sense for Sony.It's no sweat for Sony to make a FF NEX but it would need a new lens mount and bigger lenses, so for that reason it will not make sense

It makes a lot of sense to transition people with FF A mount lenses to newer technology without mirror. Translucent or otherwise. Sony will never beat Canon and Nikon with SLT or SLR and they know it. They need to focus all their engineering resources to mirrorless and stop confusing customers with SLT. If they do, they have a change being a major player in digital capture market that is very quickly becoming still & video hybrid market Watch the A99 to confirm this. Think of FF NEX as next gen alpha mount camera, not as NEX.

That's pretty sad that you'r so distracted by the grammar. Work on your personal filter.

As most publications don't budget for full-time editors, and the vast majority of readers prefer dpreview uses its budget for reviews and articles rather than better editing, I gotta say it's not gonna happen.

Personally, I choose more reviews, more website features, more articles. If I have to pay 1 or 2 errors per page, then it's a good deal in my book.

Why does a handful of people here jump on every single review Jeff Keller writes complaining about details? So an editing mistake makes it through here and there - big deal! What's your beef, really? I think Jeff is an excellent reviewer and I am glad DPR is using his material rather than the alternative - which is no review at all of smaller cameras.So if you don't like these reviews, just ignore them and move on!

I was really looking forward to the third issue of the Nex series and am terribly disappointed with this one and what is coming. I thought they would improve the battery and menu system and was looking forward to the follow up of Nex 7. I think Sony is moving sideways instead of going foreward.

First, congratulations on the review. It is mostly accurate and very informative.

The F3 looks a very cute "entry-level" NEX. Speaking of that "entry-level" intended audience, I understand the drive to redesign the flip screen to allow self-portraits...

I understand the benefit for the NEX-F3 intended audience, but I hope that the next generation NEX-5 and the rumored NEX-6 will retain the old design - for me being able to tilt the mirror down 45deg' is very important for high level and above people heads shooting.

Hi DCR and DPreview,thanks for the review but it puzzles me why there is no comparison with K-01. Just why. Feature wise, it looks like the most direct compatitor (on board flash, not the smallest of ILCs, no EVF etc).Please place K-01 in the comparison pictures and comparison graphs too and you will see why I ask. That would be only fair. AF speed should be also compared. Also the influence of shake reduction in regards to body or lens weight and volume of the whole imaging device (stabilized camera+lens).Thanks again for the review.

The bulk of the lenses, as well as the lack of breadth in choices, makes the NEX just a curiosity to me. And while this one does appear to have positive qualities, I wonder if the IQ isn't quite so impressive as presented. From the 'RAW Noise" section of the review:

"At ISO 3200 and above, the F3 delivers more satisfying image quality than its nearest mirrorless competitors, and as we'd expect from a camera with such a large sensor, it compares very well with some of the best low-end and mid-range DSLRs, as well."

Granted it is not its nearest mirrorless competitor, but the OMD EM5's RAW noise performance is visibly superior by your own crops across the entire range of sensitivies. I can't see the performance being delivered by the Nex F3's larger sensor as being that laudable. The Sony sensor in the OMD appears more talented, and the only reason that the F3 compares well to its nearest mirrorless competitors is that they haven't adopted the latest sensor technology... yet.

It is to bad every time a Sony camera product reminds us that Sony is basically an electronics company not a photograph company. All the great expertise of Konica_Minolta is gone and that makes that we don't see any good design lenses form Sony (not good for a mirror-less who has its advantage in size and weight reduction). That is why we don't see any body's designed for the photographer from Sony. Why Sony, why did you destroyed the knowledge of Konica-Minolta, where are the old employees who knew how it works?

As an owner of A850 - I just have to thank SONY for acquiring MINOLTA because I do not think Minolta could have the financial strength to bring such camera to the market.

Defiantly, I personally would like the A700 and A850/900 to be more Dynax 7D like, but still... thanks for salvaging MINOLTA line of DSLR camera & lenses. Just bought the AF 85/1.4 1st gen' what a gem on the A850 !

@ Thorgrem "That is why we don't see any body's designed for the photographer from Sony."

Anyone who says this has never used an A77. It is absolutely fantastic from a photographers point of view. It has many classic Minolta features and plenty of innovative features of its own that are genuine aids to taking better photos experienced users will appreciate. It handles like a dream.

I can only assume you write from a position of ignorance or maybe you are a troll?

As to Nex cameras they don't do it for me and neither does any mirror-less camera that is based around aps-c no matter who makes them. The lenses are just too big and d-slr type cameras - like the A77 - handle far better. If you want a compact alternative to a d-slr outfit I would go with M 4/3 for this reason. But that is just me. Plenty of people like their aps-c based mirror-less cameras. Just because I don't want one doesn't make them bad cameras or badly designed.

Well I shot whatever comes in my hand. But Sony I think eliminated a heritage name of dslr manufacture and replaced with Sony which needs a lot of time to gain a name in dslr sector. When they made the A700 in most of the advertising in in DPR even they said it is upgrade of maxxum 7D. Therefore a heritage name is require to compete in the market like Minolta which I had loved it in the film days.

Menu systems on NEX cameras - "gag me with a spoon". Ruins an otherwise nicely designed camera line that has excellent image quality. I'd score it lower based on the useability of its menu system alone.

Carl if YOU bought it then you made a wrong choice but believe me more than 90% of camera buyers are not Carl G. , for them spoon feeding is needed. It will be very self centered for you to think that every camera should be made exactly the WAY you want it to be.

Carl, aren't you the one to bash the RX100, it having the excellent menu system of Sonys DSLR/SLTs?Appears to me like you have a massive grudge against Sony due to unknown reasons. Sony can't make it right for you.Rx100 good premium compact with good menu: fail for you.Nex cameras: good APS-C camera with different menu: fail for you.I have absolutely no issues with my 5Ns menu once I set up the custom keys. Maybe it is time to get around to actually shoot photos with those cameras instead of living out your grudges.

I wouldn't worry about his comments. After all, isn't he the buffoon who got the incredibly gullible Sonyalpharumors guy to post the prediction of the A600, long after Sony said it was finished with OVFs? Well, I guess that makes the SAR site buffoonish, and probably gave a tickle to CG

Nothing like staying on topic and going right to bashing someone personally because he doesn't believe what you believe. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

I see the good ol Sony apologist crew are hard at work. Right to character assassination. Hope you are proud of yourselves.

On NEX, never appealed to me much, less the NEX7- but I don't like the menu system despite its customization options, and feel the lens lineup is too limited or too big.

And btw, the RX100 has an excellent menu system that NEX should adopt - big time. But I still think what I think about the camera, too expensive and handles like a bar of soap. Nothing will change that especially the few of you.

Its no grudge, although that is a convenient qualifier for you to believe. I couldn't' possibly have my own opinion, and it's not possible that Sony just don't make cameras that appeal to me any more. Nope, impossible.

I think DPR loves my contributions to these review threads because in this one for example I am still singlehandedly responsible for one third of the posts, and this is only the apetizer, I guarantee you I'll be in full bwon attack mode when the RX100, NEX-5R, and NEX-6 reviews come out, I'll be ripping Canikon and Samsung to shreds for the inferiority and general ineptitude.

Yeah, and spam makes up 90% of my inbox but you won't see me giving those creatures high-fives. Seriously IcyV, you can't make categorical statements like that without coming off like a flake. DP reviews are unique in the industry and I think they do it without bias and with us, the end users in mind. This review in particular nailed it. Nuff said.

Sony corrected a few serious design flaws, by adding a flash, and also a tilting LCD to make the lack of EVF more bearable.

It looks like a really nice entry level small camera for the new generation of users who grow up using iphones and portable gadgets with very little buttons but heaps of features. It is very imbalanced. The lack of dials and buttons limits its usefulness as a serious camera and makes it a very basic camera in terms of usability, but the IQ is excellent. The large size of APS-C lenses is also something that can never be fixed due to a poor choice of registration size. Another imbalance, with large lenses on a tiny body.

Sony should instead focus on developing a new interchangeable lens system using a 1-inch sensor like the one in the RX100, for a better small camera. As sensors gets better and better, that would look more promising than these tiny NEX cameras. M43 offers much more as a serious APS-C or close to APS-C system, for people to invest in.

Me owning the original NEX 3 was the most frustrating camera experience I've ever had. Both the 18-55 and 16mm lenses sucked and I just could not get used to shooting a "DSLR" (I know I know) point and shoot style. Every time I read the word NEX I start to shiver.

And for the uninitiated, no, the NEX is not pocketable with a lens attached so what's the point?

"I wish Sony had something like the Panasonic 14-42 PZ" ----------- I am pretty sure once you attach this and put it into your pocket you can NOT put rest of your mft lenses into your pocket. Sony has rx100 to cover this part where you will carry only one lens in your pocket to prove your point. If you carry other lenses in different pockets or bags then it does not make much difference if you had mft or nex.

I have used that camera for a short moment and to me the picture and video quality is amazing. The main problem is the absence of outer controls since almost everything is made by menu. For the P&S user this is no problem, he will shoot in auto mode or P mode only. Being an ancient in the field and using the NEX-7 with ease, this camera is a bit unusual for me, not enough controls. And this is the same for testers. One should have a tester for that objects who only tests P&S material, an adept to a dslr and button monument will always criticize the absence of that gadgets. At least, all this mirrorless cameras have one feature in their setup that Nikon does not have found necessary to include in the menu of their low end dslr's like the D3100-3200 series, down to the D40 and this feature is to shoot without lens attached, a feature that would allow good hybrid lenses to be used with adapters in that systems.

I was looking for a replacement for the D40, but I still miss that feature, one that could also make that camera do amazing shots with some good priced hybrids. I have not found any major disadvantages to this camera and I expect to buy one for ma daughter. so she can use my lens park and adapters. The NEX-7 is too complex for a newbie, and using it in auto mode only would be a crime anyway.

There are many mistakes in this review. In the page one table says 3C has got no Focus peaking - of course it has. On page three and they state that screen is not good for 4:3 photography - maybe but the previous Nex cameras take photos in 3:2 format and so does this one probably.

I do not ever never niggle about mistakes, this is the first such post ever. But these are horrible mistakes. How many other there must be...

If it's like the RX100, the manual really doesn't exist. What comes with the camera is just a few pages on recycled newspaper, with a link to an online manual. That's not ok, but it gets better. The online manual is a generic Sony Cybershot manual with nothing specific to the camera you just bought. I'm not saying you shoudnt buy a camera because there are no instructions; I'm just saying they don't give a damn.

Seems like the ACR 7.2 profile for the F3 could use some tweaking still, since the blackpoint is much lower than for previous NEX cameras and cameras from other brands. See for example the "black box" with coloured threads. Deepest blacks seem too bright.

On the first page it says that the F3 has a 'wider ISO range'. But... wouldn't it be the opposite? The C3 has a range that is 100-12800 whereas the F3's range goes from 200 to 16000. It lost one full stop on the lower end and gained only 1/3 stop at the higher end. So, the F3 is 2/3 stop 'narrower'.

'These cautions regarding all caps hold even more true for emails and other uses on the Web (including blogs, comments and other types of postings), where it is considered SHOUTING, which is unprofessional and a sign of poor etiquette'

Okay I figured out the problem. I insist that from now on Lars Rehm review all the Sony and micro 4/3 cameras since he gives high scores, and for Jeff Keller to review all of Samsung and Canikon's products since he's a low-scoring curmudgeon.